The Vatican released a statement on Friday asserting that their officials are not “competent” to talk about psychological matters. The unusual (but fair) assessment came after one of their cardinals, Tarcisio Bertone, declared—without sound reference—that homosexuality, and not mandated celibacy, was responsible for the church’s paedophilia scandal. (No link between paedophilia and homosexuality has ever been demonstrated.)

The comments received massive condemnation from governments and gay rights groups, including Canada’s own Egale. And from me too, why not? Because unjustly blaming an already tortured minority in order to divert responsibility for this horrific cover-up is… well, about exactly what I’d come to expect from the Vatican.

• Vatican ‘clarifies’ gay comments [Montréal Gazette]
• Just another Day of Silence at the Vatican [Egale]

The Pink Plateau.
A Haiku Collection.

I step quietly
the wind stirring long pink blades
a boundless plateau

Well, not a real field
a metaphorical one
the “gay glass ceiling”

The corporate world
is harsh and unforgiving
as John Browne found out

Don’t you find it strange
one would risk resignation
over coming out?

Clients shouldn’t flee
careers should not be ruined
just because you’re gay

So start the mower
we’ve got pink grass bags to fill
for downtown pinkville

• Top tier of business not a place to be gay [Chronicle Herald]
• Orientation still a barrier to corner office [Globe and Mail]

Let me get this not-so-straight-after-all…

Ted Haggard, massively influential evangelical leader, detests gays, but somehow regularly hires a gay sex worker for private “massages.” Oh, and he also buys meth from his gay prostitute, but only because he likes to throw it away. And now he has resigned… You know, for not having gay sex with an escort and throwing away drugs.

Now, not to be terribly presumptuous, but I’d say this is another spectacular failure for the ol’ pray away the gay strategy that Teddy’s always been preaching. So, bets? Will he now suffer the humiliation of his hypocrisies and vanish for good, or do some searching, heal, and, with time, become a powerful ally for equality?

Ah, I’ll just book you down as “the former.”

• U.S. evangelical leader resigns over ‘sexually immoral conduct’ [CBC News]